An anti-piracy exercise to test the Navy’s intervention procedures in the event of vessels differing from large cargo ships being attacked. It took place yesterday in the Gulf of Guinea, an area affected by the resurgence of the piracy phenomenon.
The news was announced in a press release by Confitarma (the Italian Shipowners Confederation- Translator’s note), promoter of the initiative together with the Italian Navy Fleet Command’s Operations Center (CINCNAV) and the Italian Coast Guard’s National Operations Center (MARICOGECAP).
The test involved the MV BLUE BROTHER owned by Bambini SpA from Ravenna and the MARCEGLIA, an Italian Navy vessel.
“Joint exercises” – Confitarma affirms – “are important for testing alarm procedures and communications between all those involved. They also represent a precious occasion for verifying safety measures currently in force and fine-tuning the operational and tactical interaction between the Italian navy vessels present in the area and the Italian naval forces involved.”
Three anti-piracy exercises have taken place since 2020 involving the FREMM “RIZZO” and “MARTINENGO” and cargo vessels owned by the Grimaldi Group and Carbofin S.p.A..
In this fourth exercise, however, the aim was to test the Navy’s intervention procedures in the event of a piracy attack against a vessel which, both in terms of size and characteristics, differs from large cargo ships.
Translation by Giles Foster